What is marketing?

Although social media marketing is what we’re always hearing about, there are other forms of marketing.  When I attended a small business marketing presentation by the Corona Chamber of Commerce a few months ago, there were three people engaged in marketing there. One of them was truly a social media marketer, in that she helps people develop their social media outreaches and can send out e-mail blasts.  Another marketer develops promotional items for small businesses.  So does one of my clients, Allegra Marketing Print Mail. As a more established business, it was not at this small business presentation, even though it’s a Corona Chamber member.

And then there is me, Pen Porter. I can help you develop a marketing strategy, but that’s only because I’ve recently learned how to do so in the certificate I’m working on in marketing at University of California- Riverside Extension. I have two more courses to go before I get the certificate.

But what I can do very, very, well, is help you with the very specific marketing strategy of public relations, specifically media relations. What I get for you is stories in the newspaper or on the radio, and because the media has them, stories on well-read websites.  Sometimes, I will even get you a story on TV. It’s hard, because if you live in most parts of southern California, you’re in the Los Angeles TV market. And if you are near me, you’re not near the TV stations’ base. But, in my past experience as an employee of an Inland Empire public relations agency, I have done it. And when the time is right, I will for some of my own clients.

You need public relations if you are a small business, a medium-sized business or a large business. If you are the latter, you probably can afford to keep a PR firm on retainer. But if you aren’t so large, people still would want to know when you’ve launched new products, hired new people, expanded your services to a new area, won awards, or are putting on an event that is either fun or of educational benefit.

You also should blog about these wonderful things, because blogging enhances your search engine optimization. Yes, I did take social media marketing as part of my training for my upcoming marketing certificate. Yes, social media outreach is very important – even if you’re primarily reaching out to other businesses.  And yes, if you don’t have time to blog, I can make time to blog for you.

 

But, again, social media marketing, which is sometimes a loose term for digital marketing, is not the be all to end all.  In fact, one of the oldest forms of digital marketing– email – has become less effective than it was 10 years ago.  

So what is a business owner or marketing manager supposed to do? It very much depends on who you are. Every company must regularly develop a strategy that focuses on meeting their customers’ needs.  It can’t be ‘because that’s how my industry does it” or even “because that’s how we have always done it.” What worked for Company A may not work for you, or maybe consumers are tired of Company A’s approach already. And even if you are Company A, just because it worked for you last year, doesn’t mean it will this year.

However, I would like to share my ideas for better marketing on this blog. I will be attending marketing seminars, hopefully public relations seminars as well. I have recently attended several, and will share about some of them in blog posts that I will publish soon.

At least one more blog post will be about a seminar Allegra Marketing Print Mail put on. I highly recommend this company be a part of your marketing strategy if you do business in Riverside or Orange counties. I cannot say enough good things about this company. It has been a top-notch printing company for 30 years. For two of those years, it has also been backed up by Allegra Marketing, a Detroit, Michigan company that is the franchiser for Allegra Marketing Print Mail of Corona. As part of this franchise, Allegra Marketing Print Mail's service reps have received high-quality training in how to market a business. Printing  paper products like brochures, signs, envelopes and business cards should probably be part of your strategy. Promotional items like pens and water bottles may also be. But Allegra Marketing can also handle your social media outreach, your direct mail outreaches, and even more. And it can help you figure out what the most effective strategies will be.